The Wookiee Leaks
The recently expanded military base sits at the southern edge of the tall hills wrapping around New Alderaan. The Skyline Transit has three stations here, connected to the compound by a wide, elevated walkway. The base is defended by energy fencing on all sides, with guard towers and defense batteries placed at strategic intervals. The front entrance leads into a public reception area. Beyond the security checkpoint lies a large, central Parade Field. The field is the central part of the campus, surrounded by the structures that make up the entire base. To the north lie the barracks and crew bunkers. To the south lies the GroundOps Command Center, complete with an impressive training center, armory, and prison facility. To the east lies the FleetOps and StarOps Command Center, a larger building, with two branches representing the Navy and Starfighter Corps extending beyond and framing the landing zone beyond. To reach the landing zone, one must go through the main entrance of these joint command centers, passing through yet another security checkpoint. (INSPECT HERE to view details about the base.) The sky is a dark with thick, purple clouds. A gentle breeze blows them across the skyline at a moderate pace. From the overwhelming presence of NR military and local security force bolstering the usual force of Customs officials, you'd think that docking bay 73 had been absorbed as part of the military base. Right on schedule, a shuttle - property of the Republic diplomatic corps - settles down with a gentle jostling. It doesn't take long for a small entourage of armed individuals to emerge and flank the ramp, looking pointedly at the man who's alleged 'information' was cause for the Ambassador to abandon her R&R and hurry back. Hale Bristol stands at the spaceport clearly uncomfortable with his surroundings. Anyone who pays even the slightest bit of attention can see the young information trader is continuously looking over his shoulder. He seems to be sticking as close to any Republic Military members as he can without infringing on their space. He peers into the sky as the shuttle appears over head. He licks his lips and removes the chin strap and then his helmet which he shoves under his arm. He watches as the RDC settles before him and he awaits the doors to open. As they do he spots the face of who he assumes is Ambassador Delgard. He gives another worried look over a shoulder and raises a hand chest high to catch her attention. As her eyes land on him Hale smiles, weakly. He nods politely to the retinue with her. "You made it. Ambassador Delgard I assume?" Ambassador Delgard isn't the only civilian to disembark from the shuttle. Slightly smaller feet come thundering down the ramp along after in the form of a wild-haired, wilder eyed girl, hastily pursued by another set of bodyguards. "C'MON! We can still make it back in time to see..." and the chase ends abruptly alongside her mother, who's staring very intently ahead at the uneasy looking man. Gabi's stare soon follows, quizzically. "You assume correctly, Mr. Bristol. I appreciate your patience." Turning aside then to look with /that/ look at her daughter, she puts a hand on her shoulder and nudges her along after the already exasperated security that's caught up. "Go on. I'll be along shortly." Hale smiles at the young girl but is quick to turn away lest he should endanger her to those that might be spying on Hale. He politely gestures for the Ambassador to speak with him near a loud ship beginning to take off. He doesn't seem to mind if any security come along. "Thank you for seeing me, Ambassador. As I mentioned in my communication. I have some information I must deliver to you." He peers over his shoulder, assured no one is watching from a distance he continues. "I'm a security specialist for Rendili. I shouldn't be here but..." He glances at the Rendili ID card on his wrist. "I couldn't stand by and do nothing." "If you know what I hear you claim to know, I don't imagine Rendili would be opposed to your intentions. Trafficking, on any scale, is an abhorrent practice. But whomever has done 'this' - is doing 'this' - has taken it to a whole new, abominable level," Ambrosia soothes with her best 'heed your conscience' voice as she follows obligingly along to deafen her already jacked hearing near the booming engines. Unlike Hale, she doesn't seem to partake in the paranoid looks about. There's little to be attempted, little to be done to her person that hasn't already...at least once. That and given the substantial presence of Republic policing present, only a fool would try. In the open, at least. And for closer quarters? There's a little something special hiding under her lengthy coat, perhaps. "Ok, I'll get right to it then, and I hate to inform you, but Rendili most certainly doesn't want this information getting out, at any cost, but what they did to those wookiees, right in front of me." Hale rubs his nose and shakes his head. "Can't be allowed to stand. There's been an influx of Wookiee indentured servants on Rendili, at first I thought they were just trying to expand their employee species but. But it was awful. They don't know I'm here. I want to help those wookiees. The only way I can. To tell you everything." Hale looks Ambrosia in the eyes. "You have to stop it." The lines around Ambrosia's eyes deepen considerably with concern as the diplomat's 'gentle' expression morphs into a grave frown. "To the planet?" she squints incredulously. "They're bringing them to the planet? Warship manufacturing?" There's a wheel turning in her brain, possibly getting ahead of itself, and it shows through the intensity of her stare. About that time, a rather savory aroma drifts into range. The source - a mobile vendor cart. It's a gaudy beast of a cart, awning and snacks-on-sticks sticking high into the air off the back end. Difficult to see around. And it's on the move, heading slightly in their direction, without getting /too/ close to the range of departing thrusters and all that. Hale notices the meat cart closing and looks to Ambrosia's guard to see if they are concerned. He moves closer to her and keeps an eye on the cart. "It isn't good, I don't exactly know why they have so many Wookiees indentured but if what you say is true." Hale frowns, deep lines appear around his lips. "There's nothing we can do about." He looks to Ambrosia. "Is there?" Without a moment lost and with an eye on the approaching vendor Hale continues. "Unless I... Spy on them for you?" The words come out clunky from Hale's lips. Hale is man who seems to be caught between loyalties. "I wouldn't know where to start..." "There is always something to be done," Ambrosia nods, following his gaze to the vendor. Someone on 'the team' is already on it, getting sufficiently in the way and placing an order while someone else strolls around behind it with a quick sweep. Just a quick infringement on personal property, which happens to turn up 'clean'. The cart's allowed to go about its business, minus one mystery meat on a stick. Snapping her focus back to Hale, she side steps just enough to insert her face back into his line of sight. To hell with discretion - that's already blown, for what idiot pair of persons randomly choose to meet so dangerously near the business end of a gassy ship? "Tell me everything you know," she speaks lowly and closely, "and I promise you you'll be compensated for your trouble." Hale appears to relax as the vendor is ushered on his way. "I've told you everything I know. I'm just a security tech. The wookiees are arriving in droves and they are being grossly mistreated and overworked. I see them every day as I go about my duties. Nobody seems to care in Rendili, it's like they're all just perfectly fine with slave labor. I'm a union man." He offers the Rendili badge on his sleeve which along with his ID shows that he is in fact a member of a trade union. "What's to say they wont need me anymore with all their new Wookiee slaves?" Hale shakes his head and ponders the situation. "I don't know anything other than that. But I could find out, maybe." The mention of credits does entice the man slightly more but doesn't seem to be a primary motivation. "I'm schedule to do some upgrades on security at the station this week. I'll be right in the same room with most of those Wookiees." Ambrosia listens quietly with a ghost of a glance to his sleeve. "Then you'll be able to see what it is they're working on. You say they arrive in 'droves'. How many does that constitute? Who is bringing them in? Are they being documented? Tagged?" A long pause then, as she considers the young man in front of her with a calculating stare. Maybe weighing the value of his words. The trustworthiness of his heart. Her mouth sets into a grim line, knowing her track record for judging the latter hasn't been stellar. "While you're puttering in the station's security system...perhaps you'll stumble across their transaction history. Payouts to a company called 'Bonadan Labor Solutions', if it exists, would be of particular interest." The tall man shurgs his shoulders and scratches at the beard at his chin. "Maybe I could take a look around, maybe I could. But that's relly dangerous. If I was caught, no telling what might happen. I don't know who is in charge of the Wookiee workers but my guess is I don't want to cross them. Not one bit. But, they can't get away with it. They can't. I wont allow it. Good folks stand by and do nothing, just as bad. But if I'm caught... If I'm caught, I'd need to get out fast, bribe someone maybe. If I do this for you, maybe even install a bug or what have you for you..." The idea of bugging the station was perhaps a far too dangerous one. "I'll need enough money to bribe my way out of the place. If I do this for you, dig around where I shouldn't, I'll need some bribe money. I'll need to know what to look for too." "The danger exists for the New Republic as well, Mr Bristol. If any tampering were to be traced back to our hands, the repercussions would be...abyssmal. Making an enemy of so influential a company, a world, would surely irk the Corporate Sector Authority. That is not something /we/ can afford." Brow dipping a bit sternly, she adds "Not in this premature stage, at any rate. If sufficient evidence is found that implicates them deep enough into this treacherous plot, well, it may be justifiable." Her fingers thread loosely together, folding at her waist. "I dare not bias your findings before they have even been made. But, we have been following leads surrounding rumor of a cover company - Bonadan Labor Solutions - and the involvement of some suspiciously rising to power Trandoshans. You are their security technician. It seems within the realm of reason that you would have cause to monitor the 'security' you provide for them, yes? We of course are not desiring to know trade secrets, manufacturing formulas, or any sort of thing that Rendili would rather its competition not see. Simply details surrounding the Wookiees - those there not of their own accord." One hand slips free to tap lightly at her belt. "I'm sure a good faith deposit can be arranged...some hazard pay, should you in fact find yourself made." Hale seems to be relieved that he won’t be required to bug the Rendili offices just yet. It would be pretty easy for him to keep an eye out there, make a few discreetly encrypted searches into the Labor Soloutions company. The mention of a trandoshan comes as little surprise once the word is mentioned. Trandoshans and Wookiee slaves had always been related. Problem living so close to the disgustingly scaled bastards. Hale doesn't like trandoshans at all. "I think that's the best we can do for those Wookiees right now. I'll head back to Rendili tomorrow and snoop around, get all the information I can. If I find anything out, how should I get ahold of you? This type of business is a bit risky for someone like yourself isn't it?" "Well, nothing's ever easy," Ambrosia confides with a small wink. She takes a moment and fishes around in the folds of her jacket, then produces a little card. "It's a private comm line, linked to my unit, not office." Offering it between two fingers, she adds, "It changes every so often, but I imagine we'll be in touch before then." Then, she pulls a datapad from that same jacket and fiddles with the screen. "As for matter of payment...I'd be willing to make a good faith deposit now. More if you are able to unearth useful details or as needed to turn suspicious eyes elsewhere. I will of course need an account number." With some trepidation Hale reaches for the card and looks it over. "I don't think this'll be good if they find it on me." He pats his flightsuit down and reaches into a stowpocket and withdraws a security tool case, shoving the card inside he looks to Ambrosia at her mention of a account number. "Wont that leave a record of money that's unaccounted for? If for some reason I get caught and they look into things, and they would, I don't think it'll look good to have a recent transfer of credits in there... But." Hale pulls out his datapad and scans some information on his screen. "With a few adjustments..." The human goes through a complicated set of encryption procedures and smiles. "That'll keep em guessing." He offers the encrypted account number. "How much should I expect in there? And you can rest easy I'll find out more info to give you. May take a while." Ambrosia watches him tool around with encryption, a knowing glimmer in her eye. "Fifteen Thousand, to start." She glances down at the tweaked number, then to her own screen. "A modest sum, to some, but considering I just recently survived escape from a bounty through pricey extortion and had not anticipated losing /more/ of my personal savings upon disembarking /here/...I think it's a plenty-generous beginning to what may become a fruitful history of transactions between you and the Republic." Hale rubs at his beard a second and nods. "More than generous. Thank you. And those Wookiees thank you too no doubt. This oughta be enough to get me out of the pot should they try boiling me." Hale chuckles. "You said you were kidnapped by a bounty hunter, extorted? That stuff still happens in this day and age? Some scumbag comes and ups and decides to nab you and charge you for the pleasure?" Hale shakes his head. "I bet the bastard was a trandoshan, too." Hale kids. "Ever think of putting a bounty on the bounty hunter? If I were kidnapped and he took my life savings you can bet I'd go take out a loan to have him hunted, dead or alive." "I'd rather not waste resources in pursuit of such a creature," Ambassador Delgard dismisses with a flick of her wrist. "There's no gain to be had. The galaxy will always be full of those seeking to capitalize on the misfortune of others." A pause. 'Like the Etti Group', she almost offers as example, but politely turns the topic instead. "Thank you, for venturing this far, Mr Bristol," she extends a hand. "I hope we speak again." Hale nods and offers a smile. "Thank you for seeing me. No way I am going to standby and watch those beats suffer. I knew a wookiee once. Didn't care for him but he's still a sentient like you or I." Hale shrugs. "Don't know why the trandotrash has taken it upon their filthy cursed scaled skin to harass a race as noble. Jealousy and greed, I guess. You can bet I'll be in touch, we may not see eye to eye on galactic politics you and I, but we can both agree that the what Rendili is doing is wrong and that's all that matters. In the meantime, Ambassador Delgard. Thanks for hearing me out and giving me a chance to do something about this." After shaking the woman's hand he glances around one more time to make sure no one saw the exchange, convinced that they hadn't he puts back on his helmet and heads towards the shuttles.